Thursday, November 30, 2006

“Why they are flocking out there? Is there is something going on?” seeing a bunch of young men sitting on their motorbikes at the side of the road while they were discussing something seriously, I asked my aunt once my siblings and I arrived at grandma’s house in one fine evening. She was busy serving us, her nieces and nephews hi-tea and said it has been such a long time since we did not sit and having tea together. I was in the inter-semester vacation anyway, that was why I paid them a visit. As usual, all of us made a big circle at the balcony of grandma’s newly-renovated house, facing the main road which the traffic seemed ceaseless despite of any season. “A police car was there just now, may be that young guy is arrested again this time. Well, it is his own mother who called the police to come over and get his son. What a poor mother!” my aunt explained with a great sigh being released simultaneously.

My aunt said that the young guy had been sent to rehab once but after being released, everything was still the same, and nothing is changed. He is still a drug-addict and keeps forcing his poor old mother to give some money every now and then so that the “stock” is ready by his side all the time. He was also admitted to hospital several times and doctors claimed that this guy is having a kind of mental disorder. Under the influence of drugs, it is not frightening anymore that he keeps threatening his own mother; give the money or she will be “finished”!

This malignant phenomenon is very common nowadays in our society. The same story is being told in the papers day in, day out and too many fingers are pointing towards too many directions, targeting who is the one to be blamed after all these things happened. So, is there any solution? Yes, absolutely, but not everyone wants to accept this solution whole-heartedly, may be due to their hidden self-interests. The solution is very simple: back to the original religious teaching.

One of the teachings which are similar in any religion in the world is “love and protect yourself and then your family members and relatives from any harm”. We must love ourselves first, let not ourselves be affiliated with immoral things which are very joyful but killing ourselves without even being noticed. As an individual, we must know thoroughly the purpose of our creation and where we are going after this, what are our responsibilities. However, if a person still feels like doing a bad thing, do it when he is absolutely alone and make sure that he is not seeing anyone after this, not even a soul, so that no second person will be infected by his bad deed and no one is burdened to take care of him, wasting the precious time and money with unnecessary things. Can he do this?

For me, this seems impossible to take place since as human being, we are all connected with our species, we need each other badly because of the humanly reason. We will love and care ourselves because we do not want others to face difficulties if we “misbehaved”. We do not want to be thrown in the hellfire in the Hereafter because of our own sins and the sins of other people which are initiated by us. We also do not want our family members, relatives and friends to face the punishment that they do not deserve. Based on those sequences, it is our job as a human to love and protect ourselves and people around us from any harm in this world and in the Hereafter, like what is said by Allah the Almighty in the Holy Quran which means:

“O ye who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who flinch not (from executing) the command they receive from God, but do (precisely) what they are commanded” (66: 6)

Blinking, blinking, blinking…..Owh, why nothing is coming out? Why the ideas are drying out? But at least I feel quite relieved at this moment. I’ve finished my new task; writing all the reports of the previous meetings which I should have been doing long time ago. Yeah, this is my new experience in the field of management and leadership since I’ve never been given the post as a secretary of any organization. Though I myself like writing but I never thought to hold this kind of post at any moment. I prefer to just listen, observe and give ideas in the meeting but now I’ve got new challenges, not only listening, observing and throwing ideas but also interpreting the ideas of other people, change them into nice words, translating them into English (since most of the words are Malay) and jotting them down, black and white. It’s not an easy job for a beginner though.

So now, I begin to appreciate all the secretaries especially those who had and have been working with me since my old school days. You are great, guys! May be we do not know the sacrifices they have done but believe me, all the secretaries out there, you fella are doing nothing but improving your own skills! I’m very cock-sure that you’ll be getting used to it by time and you’ll find yourself more organized than before if only you could do it in the right way, and of course it will be counted as an ‘ibadah if you do it for the sake of Allah. Aja aja!

Kita tak boleh nak kata style nombor satu yang paling berkesan atau style yang paling akhir tu yang paling hampeh. Setiap cara ada kelebihan dan ada kekurangan. Apa yang penting, kita mesti bijak adapt dengan current demand. Then, pandai alter style. Thus, the study style must not be too rigid and what more important is we enjoy what we are doing and the satisfaction is there inside our soul. Other thing to bear in mind is to keep on praying to Allah for our success, now & in the Hereafter. Ask Hm to give what is the BEST to us because only He who knows what His servants do not know.

Friday, August 04, 2006

We haven't really known each other before. If it was not because of the teamwork spirit cultivated in ourself during that induction course at Benum-Hill Eco Resort, we probably are stangers to each other by now. Let's cherish this friendship, forever! (From left:azimah, syazwani, zahirah, mawaddah, ain, hairena, aishah and me)

Thursday, July 27, 2006

This poem is specially written and dedicated to all my dear friends around the world especially my ex-school mates (SRI ABIM Al-Hikmah, Maahad Muhammadi Perempuan, Darul Quran, IIUM), pen pals and all my online buddies. You are the blessed gifts given to me!

More Than a Pure Gem

CaringA tacit agreement to help each otherIt won’t let you see others sufferIt’s more than compromise and mutual approvalIt makes the impossible things possible

IndeedAs a man is known by his actionsTrue friend is recognized by his sincere intentionsWith him you’ll never walk aloneIn the darkest place he is the lighting stone

You are my happiness when I am in sorrowYou said, “Today’s reality is the hope of tomorrow”So why I have to put myself lowWhen so many people care for me and not my foe?

FriendshipThe most invaluable ship that I’ve ever ownedThe purest gem still can’t be put into comparisonThough land and sea will make us apart soonThe sweet bloom of friendship will keep our hearts sewn

For friends we are nowAnd friends we will always beBecause forever and everYou are meant too much to me!

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Last Friday, I was absent in all lectures - the thing which I have never done before. It was a bad day and I have to admit that the day was worse than the day before and probably the worst of all days. It was just a matter of fight and flight. In biology, fight and flight is one of the phenomena in body homeostasis but now I think that sometimes it is irrelevant to be practiced in normal life. I fought to finish up my practical report which was supposed to be submitted before the Friday ends and at the same time I flied from attending my classes for the whole day. See, how bad I was! The report was successfully sent to my lecturer, Alhamdulillah. However, there was no satisfaction inside of me. I felt very innocent and not comfortable throughout the day till the night came just because I was playing truant by not attending the lecture in the day. Then I realized that I have made a wrong decision for maintaining my own “homeostasis” with a wrong response.

The saying of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. indeed goes right, as he said that the good deeds are those which make you feel calm and serene while the evils are those which make your heart uncomfortable and miserable. Oh, no, I have done an evil! O Allah, please forgive me for all the mistakes I have made. Thank you Allah for giving me the chance to realize my own my mistake and prevent me from being that bad. I really am ashamed of myself. I’ve finally got a moral value: hard work means prosperity, only a fool idles away his time. I was a fool last week for idling away my time and did the work in the last minute but the thing won’t be the same in the future, Insya Allah. I’ll work hard smartly to gain prosperity; prosperity in this world and Hereafter, Ameen.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Realizing it or not, all people smile in the same language  The language which is very complicated to be described since this language has its own soul. In fact, this inner soul will be automatically expressed without any instruction. If it is instructed, then the soul of the smile is no longer real and natural. Normal people can easily distinguish between a real smile which comes directly from a sincere heart and the fake smile which is forced out. Therefore, we are encouraged to always be in positive state so that we can have a trouble-free mind and soul. Smile might be the most relevant icon to that tranquility state of mind. The nearest example is our prophet Muhammad s.a.w., the most serene person with lovely characters and promotes smiling as the alms. As Muslims, this Islamic teaching should be practiced daily and be preached to others.

SmileThe simplest appreciable almsGiven to people with open armsIt lightens the wry faceSoothes and gives you easeSeeing it would dump your sadnessWithout it the world is in darkness

Smile to the challengeIt will give you a gutTo work it out, you start your paceFor it you will always fight

Smile to the worldYour hurt will healDown goes the troubleUp to the hill you will feel

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Yesterday, my family and I went to Irama Beach, Bachok, 15 minutes drive from our home. I was very sure that the seashore would be crowded with peoples from all walks of life since it was weekend. Yeah, it was such a perfect time to relax your mind and be with family members and friends, away from the work loads. Just by seeing the waves which come and go, sitting on the white sandy beach under the shade of the casuarinas trees…you’ll find that this is the magic place which you’re looking for, ever since.

However, I was very shocked once we arrived there. My sister asked me, “Why the sea is getting nearer to the road?” That was the reality. We did not have to go that far to watch the sea now. At one side, it was good since we can save our time walking from the car park to the shore but I myself did not think the benefit outweighed the disadvantages. Hahaha, did the saline water eat up the seashore and because of the salinity and its hungriness it also wanted to crunch the main road too? I saw no efforts done by the authorities to solve this serious problem and conserve our vital natural heritage.

That was not the only shock or stun that happened to me that evening. To my astonishment, with every step which I made there, my feet kissed varieties of unique things, new and rotten…rubbish! Rubbish was everywhere. It really spoiled my mood and I do not walked along the beach as usual when I came here. Instead, I just sat at the playground, watching my younger sisters and brothers playing there happily and listening to their laughter and giggles which filled the surrounding air. At that moment, while biting and munching some fish and crab nuggets, I was thinking, why people were littering the beautiful place and how to prevent the recurrence.

Soon, I came up with a single solution. Parents! From my observation, when their little kids throw away the food wrappers or drinking bottles just like that on the ground, most of the parents only look at their children, just like that too. No advices came out from their mouths, no “pick that up and throw it into the rubbish bin over there”. The only words which came out was like this, “don’t worry; cleaners will pick them up, babe”. Phew, so that was the cleaners’ job. This was absolutely ridiculous! I did not think that the cleaners will able to do their jobs since my eyes could not find any one of them since the first second we arrived at this place. So?

So, start the righteous deeds with ourselves. Then, we teach our family members and friends the correct things informally. We’ve got nothing to loose if we advice each others because we are enjoining the goods and forbid the evils. Aha, indirect advice may work better. Just pick up the rubbish and asked your bro and sis to put them in their correct place. It doesn’t matter if they aren’t following our words but at least we have done our part. At least, we are not the reason why the Earth is no more a safe place to stay. We must remember what God has told us in Al-Quran Al-Kareem, Surah Al-Ruum, verse 41 which mean:

“Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the meed) that the hands of men have earned, that God may gave them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back (from Evil)”

Friday, May 05, 2006

Now…If we don't change societyThen we are part of the causeon the Day of JudgmentWe are going to standin front of AllahThere will be no excusesFor being useless

Without Islam in our livesOur lives are fruitlessLeaving behind all thingstaking nothing but our deedsOn the last dayit will betoo late to repentWe will be accountable

For every minute & centthat we spentIslamicly intactMy brothers got my backShaitan can't attackbecause were always in a packM-U-S-L-I-MMUSLIM 4 LIFE& WE WILL NEVER GIVE INWE STAND UP AND SPEAK OUTAGAINST THOSE WHO OPPRESSWE TAKE ISLAM &WE TAKE NO LESS

Prophet showed ushow to be a statesmana father, a leaderAmir of jihada husband, a judgeand a friend

A messengerthat Allah has sendthat's the examplethat we contentHe culturedThe Sahabas personalitiesBuilt Islamic mentalitiesgave them

Thursday, April 20, 2006

I remember, once upon a time before my father died and I was at the high school, I kept asking daddy, why on earth, did he buy acres of land in that remote area. For me, it was just uneconomical and wasting of money. It was better for him to keep the money in the saving account for the future use. Besides, there would be no one to look after the lands since they were very far away from our home and everybody was busy with their own works. Moreover, there were no human beings living there, as they were the real jungle. Dad said there was a small beautiful waterfall in our land but he also managed to find the footprints of elephants and tigers! How come they will give benefit to us? Daddy’s answer was simple; now, you might not know what they are for but I’m sure you’ll know the advantages later on.

Now, I realize how stupid I was to ask that silly question. Instead, I’m thankful to daddy for giving me an idea to think about. Yes, he was absolutely right. Land is one of the most invaluable things given by God on this world as a form of responsibility towards human beings. Because of land, some people became the lords and those without it became the slaves. Because of land, a country fight with another – the latest example is between Korea and Japan and the ‘evergreen’ intifada in Palestine in fighting Jews – since it is the symbol of power and domination. Argumentation between members of the family and blood shedding has become the endemic just for the ownership of a piece of land. If it is not because of the land enriched with the petroleum and minerals, Iraq may not be invaded.

The price for an area on the surface of earth which is called a land is getting higher and higher day by day. Only those who have the true conscience to cultivate the nature wisely will get the extra bonus. We have to be aware that the lands are not our real properties. They are God’s. We came down on earth and the land is long ago laid before us and we’ll be leaving the world with the land behind us (even those who claims that he is the most powerful can’t stop the death, right?). And later in the Hereafter, God will give the real reward to those who take good care after His Properties as ordered by Him. At this moment, as everybody knows, there would be no turning back and the earth won’t be recreated.

Just ask ourselves, are we grateful enough with all our belongings and use them properly? Do we appreciate the things in front of us or just take them for granted? Have we carried out our responsibilities or still doing nothing good in this mortal life? We may say, I will or not yet but for me, the answer is one of the two matters: to be or not to be. (picture above: my family and i with 2 of our land employees - the lady with blue dress and the man behind at their house)